Powergrid Corporation of India Ltd said on Sunday that it is on course to achieving its targeted investment of Rs 55,000 crore during the current XI Plan period ending March 31, 2012.
It is finalising plans for a capital expenditure of about Rs 1,00,000 crore during the XII Plan period. This move is aimed at significant transmission network expansion, according to Mr. S.K. Chaturvedi, Chairman and Managing Director of PGCIL.
Speaking to reporters here, he said that PowerGrid has sewn up an outlay of Rs 17,700 crore for various projects during the current financial year. This would boost the transmission line by another 8,400 ckm (circuit kilometre) translating to a capacity addition of about 18,000 mVA.
Before March 2011, PowerGrid had already invested about Rs 37,400 crore during the current Plan.
Capex for XII plan
Based on the requirement of transmission system under Central sector and according to the proposed generation capacity of about 1,00,000 MW in XII Plan, an outlay of about Rs 1,00,000 crore has been envisaged by PowerGrid, he said.
“Funding is no major problem for Powergrid. Of the FPO proceeds, we still have more than Rs 2,000 crore of funds still to be utilised. We will consider ECB route and tap into multi-lateral lending agencies such as the World Bank, ADB and possibly through bonds. At a later date, we may divest additional stake to raise up to Rs 4,000 crore after seeking Government approvals,” he said.
Network expansion
Huge network expansion is expected during the XII Plan in which about 52,000 ckm of transmission lines, 70 sub-stations and transmission capacity of 1,36,000 mVA are envisaged to be added. PowerGrid evacuates about 52 per cent of the total power generated in the country and this is likely to go up further with new projects, he said.
Test station
After formally announcing a plan to take up a pilot project to deploy a 1,200 kV test station at Bina in Western region based on transformers developed by Vijai Electricals, he said, “Powergrid will eventually use this line to evacuate ultra voltage power from North East to Northern part of the country. This is for the first time any company had developed this 1,200 kVA system.”
He said that more than 30 Indian vendors, including BHEL and Crompton Greaves, would be encouraged to take part in this public private partnership project.
The 1,200 kV technology is developed by PowerGrid for the first time. Apart from benefitting Indian power sector and manufacturers, its availability would enable optimisation of transmission cost and in operations and maintenance, he felt.